Total and Genuine Reconciliation

Besides the high price of rice that majority of our people cannot afford and the lack of employment, is there any other reason why the people of Liberia would want to go back to fighting a war? After 14 years of complete destruction of our country and the loss of so many innocent lives, I am saddened to hear the Senior Senator of Nimba County invoking the specter of war.

One of the saddest moments in the history of Liberia was when the People poured into the streets of Monrovia singing their hearts out songs like this one: You killed my ma, you killed my pa, I will vote for you. I was sick in the stomach when I heard that song. That song, to me, was a reflection and desperation of a traumatized people. It was a song from a people who had given up on life and were holding on to any straw for survival. No normal human being should put their people through such a poignant and humiliating situation. Those who benefited from that song and were put into power showed no remorse whatsoever. They used that power to plunder, leaving the people destitute and the country a waste land. They used that power from that song for self aggrandizement and self promotion.

There is no question that Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and many others supported the war financially. There is no question that Senator Prince Y Johnson was shown on a video tape with President Samuel Doe in one of the saddest scenes in photo journalism. There is no question that Alahaji Kromah and the rest of the war lords in Monrovia benefited big time from the chaos our country and people faced during those 14 years of hell. And there is no question that after the Hague, Charles Taylor will definitely face his share of questionings for the role he played in the killing of more than 200,000 of his own people in Liberia.

The Senator from Nimba County should not threaten the people of Liberia with another war. Alahaji Kromah and the rest of the big fish should not hesitate to explain their roles in the war to their people. We want to know why all of them did what they did. No one person is so indispensable that a people would want to sacrifice their lives again after they have been vilified and used by others to cause untold death and massive destruction to their own people and their country. The Liberian people are fed up with wars that promote individuals, leaving behind nothing but death, lot of enemies, and inexplicable reasons for such devastating escapades.

To hear the Senator from Nimba County saying that he would physically resist going to face the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, send chills down the spines of all peace loving people. For the sake of Liberia, Honorable Senator, please do not invoke fear and threats of another nightmare. If the family of Samuel Doe has reconciled with you, the family of Steven Konah of Bong Mines is still in mourning. That family's story is one of the many stories you have an obligation to talk about, if peace like a river is ever to come your way. Peace with God holds a place for you in heaven; peace with man paves the way to that heavenly bliss.

For all those involved in the destruction of Liberia and the killing of so many our our people, the call for reconciliation must be genuine and across the board. You cannot cherry pick or pick and choose who to reconcile with.